Malignant meningioma of the cerebellopontine angle in a 2-year-old girl: a case report and literature review / 癌症

Meningioma is a common intracranial tumor in adults. Pediatric cases account for approximately 1.5% of all intracranial meningiomas, and very few cases show malignant histological features. Primary pediatric malignant meningioma in the cerebellopontine angle is extremely uncommon. Herein, we report a 2-year-old girl with malignant meningioma in the cerebellopontine angle. The clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment protocol are discussed.

Primary endodermal sinus tumor in the posterior cranial fossa: clinical analysis of 7 cases / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To clarify the clinical features, therapeutic method and outcomes of the primary endodermal sinus tumors (ESTs) in the posterior cranial fossa.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The English literatures on EST in the posterior cranial fossa were retrieved from PubMed and reviewed. And a 4-year-old boy diagnosed with EST in our hospital was reported. The clinical manifestations, therapy, pathologic features, and prognosis of these cases were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only seven cases of the ESTs in the posterior cranial fossa were enrolled in this review, including six cases searched from the PubMed and one case from our hospital. Six patients were boy and one patient's gender was not available from the report. Ages ranged from 1 to 5 years (mean 3.14 years). The mean tumor size in our cohort was 4.4 cm. Six cases came from East Asia. Schiller-Duval bodies were found in all seven neoplasms. All tumors were positive for alpha-fetoprotein. The alpha-fetoprotein level in serum was increased to a very high level before therapy and depressed quickly after the effective chemotherapy. The mean follow-up time was 24.4 months (range 5-52 months). Six tumors were totally removed, and four of them recurred. Three cases died including one whose tumor was partially removed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The serum alpha-fetoprotein level is well correlated with the severity of the tumor. A combination of operation and chemotherapy might be the effective management for EST in the posterior cranial fossa. The prognosis of extragonadal intracranial EST is poor.</p>

Surgical treatment of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cysts: clinical features, therapy considerations and outcomes / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) is one of the most common incidentally discovered sellar lesions, while symptomatic cases are relatively rare. Surgical treatment is recommended for symptomatic patients to drain the cyst content and to remove the capsule safely. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical features, surgery considerations and therapy outcomes of symptomatic RCCs.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 42 patients (19 males and 23 females) were retrospectively reviewed with the diagnosis of RCCs under surgery resection at the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University between January 2005 and December 2010.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Patients' age ranged from 6 to 67 years (mean of 41.6 years). The duration of symptoms ranged from 4 days to 10 years. Headache (69%), visual impairment (36%), and pituitary dysfunction (10%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The maximum diameter of cysts ranged from 6.0 to 46.7 mm (mean of 20.07 mm). Of the 42 patients, 36 underwent endonasal transsphenoidal approach and the others underwent transcranial approach. Thirty patients had a subtotal resection and decompression, while 12 patients had a total cyst resection. Cysts of 28 patients were lined by simple cubical or columnar epithelium, and cysts of 34 patients were filled by amorphous colloid material, that was the characteristic of RCCs. The majority of patients presented with a simple headache, and 93% of this group experienced a complete improvement after surgery. Twelve of 15 patients (80%) with preoperative visual deficits experienced an improvement in their vision after surgery. All of those patients with pituitary dysfunction experienced an improved endocrine status. The endocrinological complication usually was diabetes insipidus, and postoperative transient diabetes insipidus occurred in 13 (31%) patients without any permanent diabetes insipidus. The overall recurrence rate was 7% at a mean follow-up of 22 months (range 12 - 60 months).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Surgical treatment is to drain the contents of the cyst and to remove the capsule as much as possible under the precondition that does not increase the complications. Biopsy and decompression procedures are recommended for most cases.</p>